The workplace is changing and Northeast Ohio businesses need to get ready.

Canton-based Scitrain ltd., a leadership development company, says it has identified five global "megatrends" that will dramatically alter the workplace by 2020: Demographics, the "knowledge economy," globalization, digitalization and a shift in values.

The megatrends were found through a 2009 global study done by scitrain and the University of Goettingen in Germany.

Chad Luxenburg, scitrain co-founder and CEO, presented the findings last month at a presentation at Kent State University. The presentation, part of Kent's ongoing HR Forum series, included a panel discussion with other area executives.

Megatrends have been present before -- they warned us about the oncoming industrial revolution -- and those who have ignored them have done so at their own peril, Luxenburg said.

These are no exception.

"We can ignore the megatrends. We can ignore the future. We can ignore what's coming our way. Or we can embrace it. We can move forward with it," he said.

Northeast Ohio businesses especially need to make significant changes to prepare for the future, he said.

MEGATREND #1: DEMOGRAPHICS

The U.S. will have to deal with its aging population. The average median age in the U.S. is 37 -- 10 years higher than the average median age of the rest of the world. That translates to a lot of older workers nearing retirement and a lack of younger ones ready to take their place, Luxenburg said.

At the same time, workers are migrating; moving not just to different states, but to different countries, for the job they want. In some developed nations, the birthrate continues to shrink, he said.

Combined, the competition to capture top talent is going to be fierce.

"If you thought the war for talent was tough (now), there's going to be a severe talent shortage in the future," Luxenburg said.

The demand for employees is going to shift bargaining power from company to worker, he said.

Employers will no longer be able to run totalitarian workplaces. Workers will have the ability to say no, and businesses won't be able to find people to replace them, he said.

Companies will also need to navigate having multiple generations in the same workplace.

There will be several generations at work. All of them brought up differently and with different ideas of how to do things, Luxenburg said.

Both older managers and young employees will need to learn to communicate with each other, said panelist Lisa Codispoti, chief people officer at software company Sage North America.

"There's a language gap... between us, and we can bridge the gap but we both have to understand each other," she said.

Sage is part of UK-based Sage Group Plc.

Page 2 of 4 - MEGATREND #2: 'KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY'

The ticket to future success is generating knowledge, Luxenburg said. Knowledge leads to innovation and innovation is going to be vital.

"The days of the 'me too' companies are over," he said.

A company might be able to recreate the technology of the iPhone, for example, but it won't be able to recreate the culture and people who created it, he said.

Innovation is more than just new technology, it's also about the people creating it -- a balance between the "what" and the "how," said panelist David Hollis, the Chief Human Resources Officer for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

"If you do what everybody else is doing, you're just meeting the average," Hollis said.

Emphasis on knowledge will up demand for skilled workers, Luxenburg said.

But there's a shortage of skilled workers. And the education system won't have the capacity to keep up with the demand, he said.

MEGATREND #3: GLOBALIZATION

The future of business will be in hubs of economic power -- ecosystems, similar to Silicon Valley, that work together to make a region an economic powerhouse, Luxenburg said.

Hubs will attract multinational companies that expand out into the rest of the world.

Emerging markets like Latin America will drive that growth, he said.

Northeast Ohio has the potential to become a hub, but the area needs to compete less and cooperate more, he said. It's being held back by competition between cities and even neighborhoods.

"This region could be one of the powerhouses ... with the amount of resources we have and the amount of major firms and the great people we have right here, if we would ever come together as a region it would be truly inspirational," Luxenburg said, in a follow-up interview at scitrain's Canton headquarters.

Divided regions like that won't make it long-term, he said.

Lots of college graduates leave the region for opportunities in bigger cities. Companies have also left.

The area needs to figure out how to change that trend, he said.

"Maybe it's not them, it's us that needs to change," he said.

Competition between countries will also be replaced by competition between global cities, he said.

"It's not going to be China versus the U.S., it's going to Shanghai versus New York."

MEGATREND #4: DIGITALIZATION

The smartphone is the workplace of the future, Luxenburg said.

Millennials and younger generations won't put up with sitting in a cubical all day when they can do their jobs just as well remotely, he said.

"It doesn't matter where you sit, it matters what you do. It matters how you collaborate," Codispoti agreed.

Page 3 of 4 - At the same time, social media connects people across boundaries, Luxenburg said.

Constantly being in contact has led to a free flow of information. Forget engagement surveys, he said. In the future, the most reliable source of information will be word of mouth.

MEGATREND #5: SHIFT IN VALUES

They may have been shaped by different events and experiences, but at their core, different generations aren't all that different, Luxenburg said.

An 18-year-old in 1940 is the same as one in 2013.

"You're all human beings. You all have the same wants, the same needs," he said.

But what this new generation of workers wants is changing. Employees aren't motivated by the same incentives. "It's not about money, it's about respect," he said.

If you feel like a company truly understands you, you won't leave for an extra $50 a week, he added. Traditional incentives are not the same as modern incentives.

According to scitrain's study, employees are looking for purpose, autonomy, mastery and community.

"It's not about fruit baskets. It's not about having a pool table in the front lobby. It's about how you treat people. Can you truly put yourself in the shoes of that person," Luxenburg said.

Companies have to create an environment where people feel engaged; where people aren't just showing up for work, but feel good about being there, said panelist Joe Vitale, interim vice president of human resources at Kent State.

Companies also need to focus on work-life flexibility, Luxenburg said. Not work-life balance, which implies there's an ideal solution, he added.

Business owners need to put themselves in the shoes of their workers. A parent who needs to leave work to pick up their child from school shouldn't have to worry about their boss will say, he said.

Companies that can't adapt are going to be left behind, he said.

"That's the future," he said. "It's going to be getting rid of all the stuff that doesn't matter."

Companies also need to identify their values, and then implement them. For example, a team can't be innovative in a structured environment, they have to be able to express themselves, Luxenburg said.

Scitrain leads by example. At the company's Canton headquarters, nicknamed scitown, employees work in offices styled as dwellings, each with their own personalized themes, like a fishing cottage or sports bar.

The company also gives every employees six weeks of vaction. And workers can have a bassinet in their office, Luxenburg said.

One of the company's values is fun, so employees engage in Nerf gun wars or play video games on a projection screen.

"When you create those values, that goal or mission, you have to live it," he said.

Page 4 of 4 - Reach Jessica at 330-580-8322 or on Twitter: @jholbrookREP